Operating means for doors and the like



Aug. 19, 1930. H. D. COLMAN ET"AL 1,773,219

' OPERATING mums FOR Do'oRs AND was LIKE Filed Oct. 4, 1926 2 She ets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Hazwqrdfl Calman J 5: Ewart ATI'ORN EY5 Patented Aug. 19, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOWARD D. COLMAN AND DUNCAN J. STEVVART, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS; SAID STEWART ASSIGNOR TO SAID COLMAN OPERATING MEANS FOR DOORS AND THE LIKE Application filed October 4, 1926.

Our invention relates to closure operating mecha aisms, and more particularly to powerdriven operators of the type employed in opening and 5 ..;ing garage or factory doors.

It frequently happens, especially in the case of large garage doors, that it is necessary or desirable to use the main door closing the vehicle passageway to enable a person to enter or leave the building. In such cases it is unnecessary and undesirable, es pecially in cold weather, to operate the door into wide open position. Furthermore, the operation of the door into the wide open position requires a second operation of a control device to effect the closing of the door.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a novel powenoperating mechanism for closure members such as doors, having a power unit and control mechanism therefor operable selectively to cause the door to be moved into either wide open position or partially open position.

Another object is to provide in conjunction with a power mechanism for opening and closing a door, together with the main control device therefor, a secondary control device adapted. to cause the door to be opened only partially tor a predetermined interval of tim v and then to be closed automatically without further attention. lVith this arrangement, the consumption of power by the door operatin mechanism l'ninimized, and the person entering or leaving the building is relieved of the responsibility of closing the door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accomrmnying drawings, in which l igure l is an elevational view 01": a door operm Hg mechanism embodying the features of our invention.

F 2 shows diagrammatically the ar rangement or". electrical circuits for control- Selial No. 139,277.

ling the electric motor which is used as the power unit in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a delay action device "for controlling one of the motor switches.

F 4 and 5 are respectively plan and side'views ot one of the limit switches.

While we have shown in the drawings and will herein describe one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that We do not intend thereby to be limited to the particular form disclosed, but aim to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

The mechanism shown in tne drawings to illustrate the present invention comprise generally a door, an electric motor for supplying power toopen and close the door, two motor switches each controlling the opening of the door, amotor switch controlling the closing of the door, and a control device operated by the door during the opening movement and arranged to operate said closing switch automatically after predetermined interval of time provided the door has been opened by a certain one of said opening switches.

The closure member and the operating means therefore may be of any preferred construction. In the present instance, a door having two sections 1.0 and 11 is employed, each section being slidably supported by brackets 12 on a stationary track 13 mounted on the inner wall 14: oi"- the building above the doorway therein. The operating mcchanism includes a long screw-threaded shaft 15 journaled at opposite ends in bearing brackets' 16 and driven by an electric motor 17 through suitable gearing located in a housing 18. Rigidly mounted on the inner side of each door section is an upright bar 19 having a. member 20 at its upper end threaded onto one end of the shaft 15. The opposite ends of the shaft are reversely threaded so that upon rotation of the shaft in one direction, the members will travel away from each other to open the door and upon reverse rotation, the door will be closed. Stops 21 are provided on the shaft to limit the outward movement of the door sections in the event that the sections are not stopped by the limit switches as will be described later.

To control the direction of rotation of the motor 17 and thereby the normal opening and closing of the door, electron'iagnetic switches 22 and Fig. 2) are provided for con nccting the terminals Ql and 25 ot' the power line to the motor and to control the direction of current flow in the motor armature 26 relative to that in the motor field 27. The opening switch 23 is located in a switch box 28 (see l) and comprises three normalen contact switches 23, 23 and 23, each 1 1g a stationary contact and a movable contact mounted on a pivotal arm 23 which is arranged to be moved to close the three contact switches simultaneously by energization of a magnet 23 and to be returned to open position by a spring 23 when magnet 23 is deenergized. Switches 23 and 23 control the application of the line voltage to the motor armature and field, while the switch 23 controls a locking circuit for connecting the magnet across the power line to hold the contact switches closed.

The closing switch 22 is also located in the box 28 and its construction is identical with that or the opening switch 23, the line connections of the switches 22 and 22* with the armature 26 being reversed to those of switch 23 so that the direction of rotation of the motor may be reversed. A normally closed limit switch 29 mounted on the wall ll is included in the locking circuit of the electromagnetic switch at} with its movable arm 30 (Fig. 1) positioned to be struck by the member 20 when the door section 10 has been completely opened. hen this occurs, the switch 29 will be opened, and the magnet will be deenergized, the arm 23 returning to normal position, thereby cutting oil the power supply to the motor. A similar limit switch 31 is interposed in the locking circuit of the electromagnetic closing switch 22 and is arranged to be opened by the member 20 as the door section 10 approaches its closed position.

Located at various places about the building are hand-operated switches 32 for selectively controlling the operation of the electromagnetic switches 22 and Preferably, each ot these switches has four push buttons :14. 3t; and 37. buttons 3% and 35 being mounted on a pivoted arm 38, and buttons 30 and 3? being mounted on a pivotal arm 39 which is held in normal position by springs it). The arm 38 is connected to the power terminal and is adapted to be moved by the button 34: against a contact ll connected to the energizing circuit for the magnets 22 and through a current limiting resistance s1. Normally the arm 38 is in the position shown in Fig. 2. lVhen it is desired to stop the door manually while it is being opened or closed, the button 85 is pushed to break the locking circuit of the electromagnet then energized. The arm 39 is connected to the other power terminal Ql, and is adapted to be moved selectively against contacts 42 and i3 to connect the power terminal to either of the magnets 22 and 23 momentarily, or until the locking circuit 01' the magnets is established by movement of the corresponding switch arm.

The operation or the switches in opening the doors full width from the closed position shown in Fig. 1, and then in closing them, will be briefly described. To open the door sections, the button is pushed. This 1nomentarily energizes the magnet 23 which moves the arm -5 to close the switches "221 and 23" thereby starting the motor and establishing the locking circuit through switch 23 tor the magnet Rotation of the motor moves the door sections apart to open the doorway. As the sections approach their open positions, the limit switch 2) is opened which breaks the locking circuit of magnet 23 thereby cutting oil the current supply to the motor stopping the door sect-ions automatically.

To close the door, the button 37 is pushed which causes arm 22 of the closing switch to establish connections for the reverse rotation of the motor and also for locxing the circuit through the limit switch 31, which, it will be observed, was closed automatically in the initial opening movement of the doors. The limit switch 531 is opened as the door sections approach their closed position.

The switch control mechanism thus far de scribed is intended for use in conniletelv opening the doors so as to permit autonuibiles. trucks and the like to enter. lVe shall now explain the mechanism for controlling the motor circuits so that the doors niav le partially opened for a brief interval to permit a. person to enter or leave the building.

To these ends an auxiliary opening switch ll constructed in the same inaimer and connected to the power terminals in the same way as the opening switch 23 is located within a switch box &5. The magnet circuit of this switch is adapted to be closed manually bv one of two switches -l-6 and l? of the push button type which, in the present instance, are conveniently located on the inner and outer sides of one of the door sections. A snap switch l8, located inside of the door, is interposed in series with the outside switch at so that opening of the door from the outside may be prevented if desired. To preltltl lit) vent operation of the auxiliary switch 44 by the control switches 46 and 47 when the door is moving to its closed position, switches 49 are provided which are closed only when the door is closed. For this purpose, spring contacts 50 (see Fig. l) are mounted on the wall 14 and bear against contacts fixed on the outermost edge of the door section 10 to complete the circuit through switches 46 and 47 when the door is in closed position. As soon as the door sections begin to move apart, the switches 47 will be opened.

Interposed in the locking circuit of the auxiliary switch magnet 44 is a limit switch 51 arranged to disconnect the motor from the power line and thereby arrest the movement of the door sections after they have been moved a, predetermined distance apart, this distance being determined by the position of the limit switch 51 on the wall 14. The limit switch employed for this purpose and shown in. detail in Fl 4. and 5 comprises a bracket fixed to the wall 14: and carrying an outwardly projecting pivotal lever having a contact arm 54 carrying a. contact piece 54-" which is normally held closed against two contacts 55 by a spring 56. \Vhen the door has been moved open a predetermined distance, a cam 57 carried by the door section 10 strikes the lever 53 and breaks the contacts thereby stopping the door.

The means for automatically closing the door after it has been partially opened by operation of the auxiliary electromagnct switch 4;": as distinguished from the regular opening switch 23 comprises a circuit 58 including a switch 59 in parallel with the control switch for the regular closing switch and a delay action device 60 for automatically closing the switch 59 after allowing a predetermined interval of time for the motor to come to re t after the limit switch 51 has been opened. It will be apparent that when the switch 59 is closed, the closing switch 22 will be operated to start the nnwemeut of the door secti-tins to determined by the position of the limit switch 51, that is, beyond the predetermined partially open position.

The device 60 for delaying the closing oil the switch 2-2 comprises, in the present instance, a balanced wheel 62 which in etlect constitutes a compound pendulum. This wheel is supported by a knife-edge hearing 63 on a horizontal bracket 64 mounted on the wall of the building. Projecting laterally from the peripheral portion or the wl'ieel above the bracket are two rigid pins 55 and (it; which serve to limit the rotational movement of the wheel. hen the wheel oscillates countor-clockwise, the pin 65 strikes a spring contact 67 of the normally open switch 59 thereby closing the switch which initiates the operation of the closing switch 22 as above do scribed. he wheel is set in motion by a cam 68 (Fig. l) mounted on a bar 69 which projects horizontally from the door section 10 and rests slidahly on a track 70. The cam 68 is positioned to strike a lateral arm 71 pivoted on the wheel to swing on a radially extending axis. An arm 72 rigid with the arm 71 prevents pivotal movement of the arm 71 by the cam 68 when the door is being opened, but permits the cam to move past the arm without overcoming the inertia of the wheel when the door is being closed.

To summarize the operation, a person desiring to enter or leave the building when the door is clo ed pushes one of the control switches lt; or 47 which cl lees the circuit through the normally closed limit switch 5 and the switches 4-9 thereby energizing the magnet i l ol the auxiliary opening su ltcl. l' This starts the motor which moves the door sections apart. In the movement of the section 10, the cam 68 strikes the arm Tl on the wheel 61 and gives the wheel an impetus in a clockwise direction. Such movement oi the wheel is arrested when the pin strikes the bracket (i l, and the wheel, acting as a compound pendulum, starts to rotate slowly in a counterclockwise direction. The door section continues to move apart unti. io; 10 opens the limit switch, the motor bein thereby stopped with the door partial y ope: The person may then enter or leave the buildmg.

111 the slow counter-clockwise increment of the wheel 62, the pin 65 strikes against the contact 67 which closes the switch 59 and thereby energizes the magnet 22 to operate the closing switch The door will the be closed in. the usual way. It will be notcf the interval. between the opening of ll and the clos ig of the switch determined by th ion of the p the period of or this interval being adjus ed a LG permit a person to enter or leave the building sai v and also to allow the motor to come to rest before the power connections are rev The auxiliary control unit thus provi extremely simple in construction and eilicient in o izeration. It can be adapted to practically any type or power driven mechanism such as is used for tip-rating doors and does not in 'terlere in any way with the operation 0? the door by the regular opening and closing switches.

lVe claim as our invention:

1. A door operating mechanism having, in

Inn

combination with a door, a motor, mechanism driven by id motor to operate the door, a power line, three electroanagnetic switches for connecting said power line to said motor, one oi said switches heiug arranged to con trol the closing" of the door. said ot ier switches being arram d tor independent operation to open said door, and a device for operating said closing switch automatically :1 predetermined interval after by one of said opem t1 switches.

Q. A door operating; mecl'ianism having, in combination with a door. an electric motor oeerath:el connected to the door,

tivo manuv operable switch devices for controlling said motor. one arrang 'ml to cause the door to he moved into one per ;ion and the other arranged to cause the door to he moved into a position hey nd said first mentioned position. an electro mag'netic switch controlling said motor to return the door to its initial position. two switches connected in '1 arallel and each adapted to operate said his mentioned switch and means to operate one of sai switches automatically after the door opped in said first memioned position. 3. A door operating mechanism lnivinsz, in cinnbination with a door. a motor operati\clfr associated w th the door. a .-'-i\vitch tor controlling said mo to conipletel; open s l door a second switch controlling said inoto, to pniallv open the door. and a control svttel operable to cause the door to be closeo automnticallv from its partially open position. 1d 1 1 circuit o't said a: a switch interposd in me control switch and positioned so as to be bv (aid door in moving from its partially open position to its con'ipleteb open position. I l

-l-. A door n rating; mechanism having. in combination with a door. a motor arranged to operate the ooor. selectivcl v operable swit ln i. ecl, {IllHH i'or co I motor to completelv or ;72!1il:!l.}' open :l tro-ninsl'netic device 'ontrolling' I close the door automat cally. and a sv-r terposcd in series with said device 1 an elecnio or to itch inl ranejed to ltQ opened at? the doe has o en op ned hewnd said pal allv oner p' t1or d1 1 io' mech l ier opera ami iiination with a door, a clQtiEO-lll1191i?iit svrittl. said motor t ii o e the door. a -:econ tro-mae'nctic siv a laptcd to "on opening: of said door. a control sivitc 1 mon.

te said ed on sait. door and adapted to opera seeondarv electroniae'netic switch. and means 1 l i l 1 operating; antomaticallv atter the dom nas been opened hv said secondary switch to control said mocoi' .YlMEQ JY close the door.

6. A door operi t lingmechanism having. in combination with a door. motor, a switching de ice controlling the motor to initiate move ment of the door from closed position to a; open position, a second switcning device conhe operation of the doortrolling the motor to initiate the movement of the door from closed position to another open position, a switching device for causii'ig the door to be moved bacl; to its closed position automatically after reaching said tirst mentioned posit-ion, and men is operable in the movement of the door to said last mentioned position for preventing the control of the motor by said last mentioned switching device.

'7. A mechanism ol the character ('cerribcd having, in combination, a closure member, an electric motor ar 'anged to move said member in opposite directions, three switches controlling the operation of said motor, two oi" said switches being arranged for independent operation to cause the motor to move said member in one direction, said other 1 ch being irranged for automatic ope 'ation to l in operating mechzan 11) havin g. in combination with a door, power mca:1.--: for moving said door, means oper ble to control said power means to completely open the door, means operable to control said power means to partially open the door, and a device operable to control said power means whereby to close the door automatica vided the door has been opened by said lax-t. mentioned control means.

10. An operating mechanism having, in combination with a door. poiver means to open and close the door. trio imlependentl operable devices controlling said poiver men 11;. to open the door, and mains rendered active during opening otii said door hv a predetermined one oli said devices for initiating: the ope 'ation of said power 11 ea to ('lUrw, the door automatically.

Ill. An oieratiinr mechanism having. in combination with a door, power llltila'lz-S o open and close the door, tivo independen l}; operable devices controlling said pmvcr n'ieans to open the door, means rendered active during opening of said door by one oi? said devices and ope ating' to close the door auton atically, and a device for del rvine the cttective ope ation of said last mentioned means.

12. An operating mechanism having. in combination with a door, power means to open and close the door. a device adapted to cause the door to be completely opened, a device adapted to cause the door to be partially opened, means controlling said power means to close the door automatically, and means .ior rendering said control means ineffective when the door is opened by said first mentioned device.

13. An operating mechanism for the character described having, in combination with a closure member, a rotary power device operatively associated with said member whereby the direction of rotation of said device determines the direction of movement of said member, manual control means operable to cause said power device to rotate in one direction, means for stopping said power device, and a delay action device arranged to cause reverse rotation of said power device after a predetermined interval following the operation of said stopping means.

1st. An operating mechanism of the character described having, in combination with a closure member, a rotary power device operatively associated with said member whereby the direction of rotation of said device determines the direction of movement of said member, manual control means operable to cause said power device to rotate in one direction, mechanism for stopping said power device, means operable to initiate rotation of the motor in the opposite direction, and means for delaying the action of said last mentioned means until said motor has come to rest or substantially so.

15. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of arotatable power device, control means operable to cause rotation of said power device for a predetermined interval in one direction, secondary means operable to cause rotation of said de vice in the same direction for a predetermined shorter interval, and means operating auto matically in response to the rotation of said device by said secondary control means for reversing the direction of rotation of said device.

16. A door operating mechanism having, in combination with a door, an electric motor operatively associated with the door, a primary opening switch controlling the operation of said motor to open said door full width, an auxiliary opening switch control ling said motor to partially open the door, a closing switch, and a control switch interposed in the circuit of said auxiliary switch and operable automatically to prevent operation of said motor by said auxiliary switch while the door is being closed by operation of said closing switch.

17 A door operating mechanism having, in combination with a door, an electric motor, two switches adapted for independent operation to control said motor whereby to open the door different distances, a switch controlling the closing of said door, and means for preventing effective operation of one of said opening switches when the door is being closed under the control of said closing switch.

18. A door operating mechanism having,

in combination with a door, a power means arranged to operate said door, two devices adapted for selective independent operation to control the opening of said door diiierent distances by said power means, a device for causing the door to be closed, and means to prevent the effective operation of one of said opening devices during operation of the door by said closing device.

19. A mechanism for operating the door of a building having, in combination, with a door, an electric motor operatively associated with said door, an electromagnetic switch for controlling said motor to open said door, a circuit controlling the operation of said electromagnetic switch including a manually operable switch located within said building, and a circuit in parallel with said manually operable switch and including two switches, one located outside of the building, and the other located within the building.

20. A mechanism of the character described having, in combination with a door, an electric motor, a switch for controlling the motor to close said door, and a balanced wheel for closing said switch, said wheel being actuated by said door in moving into open position.

21. A mechanism of the character described having, in combination with a door, power means for opening and closing the door, means for controlling said power means to cause the door to be opened, means for reversing the movement of said power means whereby to close the door, and means rendered active during opening of the door for delaying the effective operation of said reversing means until said door has come to rest.

22. An operating mechanism having, in combination with a door, a motor operatively associated with the door, switching mechanism controlling said motor to open the door, a manually operable switch controlling said motor to close the door, a switch in parallel with said manually operable switch, and means actuated by said door in moving to open position for operating said last mentioned switch automatically.

23. The combination with a closure mem ber, of a power driven operating means for said member, a control mechanism selectively operable to initiate an operating cycle of said operating means to cause said member to move either into wide open position or into partially open position, means controlling said operating means to cause said member to be closed from either of said positions, and means operating automatically after said member has been stopped in said partially open position to initiate the iii operation of said last mentioned means.

24:. The combination with a closure member, of a power driven operating means for said member, and a control mechanism operable to cause said member to move into wide open position, said mechanism having an auxiliary control device operable to cause said member to move into partially open position and then automatically into closed posit-ion.

25. The combination with a door to be operated, of an electric motor operatively associated with said door, two circuits each adapted to control the starting of said motor to open said door, a switch in one of said circuits adapted to be operated whereb v to stop said motor when the door has been moved a predetern'iined distance, a switch in said other circuit adapted to be operated to stop the motor when the door has moved a predetermined shorter distance, a circuit controlling the operation of said motor to close said door from either of said positions, and means operating automatically after said door has been stopped in said last mentioned position to control said last mentioned means wherebv to restart said motor.

26. The combination with a closure member. of a power driven operating mechanism including an electric motor, two selectively operable control means adapted to initiate the operation of said motor to open said member, n eans responsive to the operation of said member by one of said control means to stop said motor with said member in partially opener position, means responsive to the operation of said member by said other control means to stop said motor with said member in wide open position, and means responsive to the operation of said first men tioned control means and operable automaticall to restart said motor to close said member after the member has stopped in its partially open position.

27. The combination with a closure member. of a power driven operatingmechanism including an electric motor, two seiectivelv operable control means adapted to initiate the operation of said motor to open said member. means responsive to the operation of said member by one of said control means to stop said motor with said member n par tially opened position, means responsive to the operation of said member by said other control means to stop said motor with said member in wide open position, means responsive to the operation of said first mentioned control means and operable automatically to restart said motor to close said member after the member has stopped in its partiall; open position, and means operable after said member has reached said partially open position to relay the action oi said last mentioned means.

28. The combination with a door, of a power driven operator therefor including an electric motor, and control. means for said motor operable selectively when the door is in closed position to initiate either a single door opening cycle of said operator or a combined door opening and closing cycle. In testimony whereof we have hereunto afiixed our signatures.

HOXVARD D. COLMAN.

DUNCAN J. CTEYVAI-t'lf ICU 

